Apparatus for treatment of grain preparatory to grinding.



Paten ted May 20, 1902.

a. BIANCHINI. APPARATUS FOR TREATMENT OF GRAIN PBEPARATORY I'O GRINDING.

(Application fllad May 18, 1899.)

(N'oModaL) Wlw seas.

THE uunifs rrrcns cou PHOYOVLITHOU WASHINGTON, I). Q

5 Y obtaining flour of exceptional purity by the- UNITED STATES PATENT 7 OFFICE.

- GUGL'IE'L'MO BIANoniNi, on MILAN, ITALY- A APPARATUS FOR TREATMENT. OF GRAIN PREPARATORY TO GRINDING.

SPEGIEIGATIOltTforming part of Letters Patent N 0.700372, dated May 20, 19021.

Application filed May 18, 1899.

and useful Improvements inApparatus for Treatment of Grain Preparatory to Grinding; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the in-. vention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which -it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the acconipanying drawings,andto the numerals of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

v This invention relates to an apparatus for the treatment of grain prior to itsbeing ground. I

In the following description the expression grain.is used in the sense of cereals of all kinds which aremilled that is to say,wheat, I

Indian corn, rye, doc. I

Attempts have longbeen made to obtain a perfect decortication of I the'grain before milling for the purpose of increasing the proportion of the resulting product which is capable of being placed upon the market and for previous elimination of germs, dust, and the cortical envelop. These efforts have not,

hitherto met with success, because the decorticating appliances at present in use produce too great aproportion of broken grains or absorb too much power. These defects are obviated by means of the apparatus which forms the subject of this invention. No rupture of the grains takes place, and from one thousand to one thousand two hundred kilograms of grain may be decorticated per hour with a force of three and one-half horse-power, only three per cent. of the weight of thegrain being removed. By employing a force slightly greater than this and by moistening the grain rather more than usual an absolutely perfect decortication may be efiected.

The treatment to which the grain is submitted is as follows: It is first of all moistened Serial N0.'7l7,240- (No model.)

and contracting, from a point at approaijmately one-half'its height toward its upper.

edge. The grain is, delivered from this vesting-blades, with which the wall of the vessel is provided slightly below its upper aperture.

Thisrubbing of the grain-upon-it-self, against the walls of the 'Vessel,"'and against the cutthe cutting-blades;

-In the drawings, Figu'roll' is a vertical sec-' tion of the lower portion of the apparatus where the decortication properlysOcallied takes place. Fig. 2 i'sa plan view as'seen T from above corresponding toFig. 1. Fig. 3 is a detail view corresponding to Fig; 1.

The grain is ifirst suitably moistened and conveyed to thevessel inwhich it is decorticated by the trough 10, for instance. vessel is open at its upper p'ortionand is traversed by a vertical shaft, to which movement I isimparted' by any appropriate means; A circular aperture is providediat'thelower portion of the vessel and enables it to becom pletely emptied at the termination of the operation.

at the upper portion of the vessel, corresponding to a parallel of the sphere, is surrounded by a gutter 12, provided with apertures 13,

and terminating in conduits 14. The inner wall of the vessel, is provided slightly below This aperture is normally closed by means ofan obturator l1. The large opening 7 the said upper opening with cutting-blades Y 15 of steel. The shaft 16 is provided with a screw 17, which also has a cutting edge, and

with an Sshaped vane 18, of which Fig. 3 is a,

plan View. The pipe 19, which is attached to ings'or fixed to the sphere, receives the grain conveyed thereto by the trough 10. The shaft the shaft 16 in the manner shown in the draws5 -sel after having been carried against the out; i

sel, along which it is forced to ascend. In this manner the grain is Worked by the rubbing of the grains one against the other, by friction against the walls of the vessel, and by the cutting action of the screw 17 and of the blades 15. The introduction of the grain through the pipe 19 may be regulated in such a manner that the quantity which enters the vessel is invariably equal to that which issues therefrom at the upper opening and in such a manner that the grain remainsin the machine during the time necessary for undergoing complete decortication. Immediately the grain in ascending reaches the height at which the scoop 20 is situated this latter throws it, owing to centrifugal force, against the lid 22, from whichitfalls into the gutter 12 and is removed therefrom by the scoop 21, which directs it toward the apertures 13 and the dischargecondnits 14. The apparatus thus operates in a continuous manner until the treatment of a portion of the grain having been terminated the vessel is emptied by opening the obturator 11.

WVhat I claim is- I I. In an apparatus of the kind specified, a vessel provided with a central feed, and an inclined lid or cover, means for causing the grain to pass centrally downward within said vessel and upwardly along the sides thereof, means for throwing the grain upwardly against said lid, a peripheral channel at the upper end of said vessel provided with outletports, and means for moving the grain within said channel toward said ports.

' 2. In an apparatus of the kind specified, a vessel provided centrally with a tube extending into its upper end, a central shaft provided with a screw adapted to move the grain centrally toward the bottom of the vessel, blades upon the inner face of said vessel, a peripheral channel at the upper end of said vessel provided with outlet-ports, a rotatable wing or fan at the upper end of said vessel, a conical lid or cover on said vessel, and a rotatable scraper situated within and adapted to traverse said peripheral channel.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as myinvention I have signed my name in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

GUGLIELMO BIANCHINI. \Vitnesses:

L. FRETTE, MICHELE DE DRAGO. 

